César Pelli (1926-2019) was born in San Miguel de Tucumßn, in Argentina. He worked with Eero Saarinen and, once in Los Angeles in 1964, he partnered with other important names like Gruen architects. Pelli was famous for the large use of glass in his buildings’ facades and for the skyscrapers he designed around the world: Domus has published several of his works over the years. Among them, the Petrona Twin Towers, the worldwide known project located in Kuala Lumpur, completed in 1997; the masterplan of Porta Nuova in Milan, including the Unicredit tower, the highest skyscraper in Italy; the 1985 expansion of the Museum of Modern Art with a residential condominium tower; the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, opened in 1975.
A selection of works by César Pelli, father of the Petronas Twin Towers
The most important projects by the Argentinean architect, dead at 92, published on Domus over the years: from Kuala Lumpur’s towers to Porta Nuova in Milan.
From the article originally published on Domus 814 April 1999
From the article originally published on Domus 1003 June 2016
From the article originally published on Domus 1028 October 2018
From the article originally published on Domus 662 June 1985
From the article originally published on Domus 814 April 1999
From the article originally published on Domus 650 May 1984
From the article originally published on Domus 682 May 1987
From the article originally published on Domus 682 May 1987
From the article originally published on Domus 682 May 1987
From the article originally published on Domus 705 may 1989
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- La redazione di Domus
- 22 July 2019
César Pelli, Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In Kuala Lumpur he interpreted the unscrupulous dynamism of the Orient’s financial tigers by the aggressive form of the Petronas Towers. Boldly joined by a 42nd-floor walkway, they are like a portal
The 230-metre Unicredit skyscraper in Milan is the emblem of the city’s large redevelopment area at Porta Nuova. This bank headquarters is athree-building complex design by César Pelli (Pelli Clarcke Pelli Architects)
Designed by César Pelli and realized between 2009 and 2012, the Unicredt tower wraps around Gae Aulenti square
Four-Leaf Towers, 1982, César Pelli and Associates (A.C. Martin and Associates, and Melton Henry Architects)
Cesar Pelli, Performing Arts Center of Greater Miami, Miami, Florida. Rendering of ballet opera house
The Museum of Moder nArt in New York, with the new tower including the west wing. (Project by César Pelli & Associates, Edward Durell Stone Associates, Gruen Associates)
The model seen from San Vincent Boulevard. One of Los Angeles’ most notable buildings – the Pacific Design Center – was built to the designs of Cesar Pelli and Gruen Associates. Since its inauguration in 1976, this center has been the design leader in the western United States
The model
PDC’s context
Bird’s-eye view of the model. The design proposal comprised of two primary building concepts: the Terminal and the Concourse